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Tonie and the Donkeys

Tonie and the Donkeys

HOURS :THURS-SUN 10-4

TOLLEN FARM

11681 s.w. TOOZE ROAD

WILSONVILLE, OREGON 97070

503-682-1604

Thursday, August 28, 2008

BIG NEWS COMES IN SMALL PACKAGES!

WHEW WHAT A WEEK!
The farm has two new babies! The first new baby arrived on Saturday afternoon. Momma Llama gave birth to a baby girl. We could call this new little one SUPRISE as she was definitely that! The mother has only lived here for about 4 months and I had no idea that she was going to have a baby! She was not at all tame when she arrived but got to the point where she would eat out of my hand and let me touch her neck. It's a good thing that she trusted me as I helped bring her daughter into the world. There was quite an audience watching the whole thing, including the lady who drove in the driveway to tell me that the llama was giving birth out in the field! Imagine my disbelief and astonishment! All the visitors to the farm helped. One lady kept Cowboy out of the way, as he was in the same field as the llama, and another couple got apples to feed him and keep him occupied. I did not want him too close to the mom and baby.
The neighbors all sat on the grass in their yard and watched her arrive. Everybody took photos. Little "Mocha" got a slow start as Momma Llama did not really have any milk at first for her newborn. I gave her a bottle that night and she slurped down 8 ounces of milk. The next day I got some colostrum from the farm store and gave her a couple of bottles. By Wednesday, her momma had plenty of milk for her. Mom and baby are doing fine.
Today, Thursday, I had a group of people here this morning and as we looked at all the donkeys, I made the comment that Moon Beam looked ready to have her baby today.
Sure enough, as soon as I was busy with other things, she did just that! By the time I discovered her little pinto jack, he was up, dry, and going to sleep on his feet! Sometimes, after they are born,the babies can't figure out how to lay down and they are so tired they almost sleep on their feet. It helps to lay them down but when I tried to do that, Moon Beam came over and body blocked me away from her son. She was just reminding me that SHE was his MOM and she would take full care of him! Most momma donkeys do not like people or anything else to get too near their new babies for a couple of days. They like to stand between everything else and their offspring. If it isn't raining this week end, both babies will be outside where you can see them.

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TRIPLETS !

TRIPLETS !
Here are the new lambs enjoying the grass!